Chestnut Hill College’s Harry Potter Academic Conference Celebrates 10 Years of Scholarship
Chestnut Hill College’s Annual Harry Potter Academic Conference will mark its tenth anniversary this year, taking place October 15-16.
The festival will feature a series of live discussions (attendees and presenters are asked to wear masks) with academic scholars on the topic of Harry Potter and the Wizarding World. The content will be streamed on campus and available virtually to accommodate guests from across the world.
This year’s conference will usher in the 20th anniversary of the theatrical release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first movie in the film series.
The nonprofit academic conference explores themes found throughout the internationally acclaimed series of books and movies.
More than 25 scholars, including several local professionals, will cover topics surrounding identity, cuisine, psychology, social media, and gender in the fictitious realm of author J.K. Rowling.
Speakers will participate in live Q&A discussions immediately after their presentations.
Fans of the series, celebrated academics, and muggles (non-magical people) alike from across the globe take part in the conference event annually.
The Harry Potter Academic Conference was founded in 2012 by Chestnut Hill College faculty Patrick McCauley, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Philosophy, and Karen Wendling, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Chair of the Center for Natural & Behavioral Sciences.
The two professors were inspired by the work of students who had participated in an interdisciplinary, honors undergraduate class that used the Harry Potter series as literary text throughout the course.
Tickets for the Harry Potter Academic Conference are now available and can be purchased online. The conference’s full schedule is also online.
The 10th Annual Harry Potter Academic Conference will be held at Chestnut Hill College, 9601 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, on Friday, October 15 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
As an institute of higher education in Philadelphia, following guidance from the City of Philadelphia, Chestnut Hill College mandates that students/staff/faculty working at the college be vaccinated against COVID-19.
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Here is just one of the speakers at the conference in 2019.
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